Benefit of priority is hereby claimed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. .sctn.120 to a prior U.S. design patent application filed under the same title and with the same inventors on Apr. 25, 1996, Ser. No. 29/053,584.
The present invention relates in general to improved impotence treatment appliances and, in particular to pump assisted vacuum therapy impotence treatment technology improved for reliability, performance, and user controlled convenience.
The medical condition of male impotence (i.e., the inability to achieve adequate penile erection for sexual intercourse) has been the subject of significant medical and scientific attention. Various therapies, both surgical and nonsurgical, have been previously made available for treating male impotence. One nonsurgical therapy generally involves the therapeutic use of a vacuum chamber for producing penile engorgement by drawing blood into the erectile bodies of the user's male sex organ, i.e., penis, by using a vacuum. The user's penis is placed within a vacuum chamber or cylinder. With a relative vacuum seal established between the user's body and such vacuum chamber, negative pressure or vacuum is produced within the chamber, leading to vacuum induced engorgement. An elastic cincture band or similar device is then used to secure the engorged condition of the male sex organ.
The art has seen a variety and a progression of devices for use with vacuum therapy. For example, commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,856,498 (Osbon) and 4,378,008 (Osbon, Sr.) both disclose examples of vacuum chambers for use in vacuum erection enhancement therapy. In such examples, a vacuum tube is interconnected to a vacuum source (i.e., a source of negative pressure), such as a manual or hand pump. Examples of elastic cincture bands or rings are referenced in such patents. Such rings typically are initially applied to the outside diameter of the vacuum chamber and then subsequently transferred to the base or root of the user's engorged penis. Such arrangement captures and maintains the vacuum induced rigidity thereof.
Different devices and advancements have sought to improve interface of the technology with the user. Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,453 (Osbon, et al.) illustrates a vacuum chamber with a tapered end distal to the user during use. Such built-in taper facilitates application of exemplary cincture bands to the vacuum chamber. Accommodating the relatively small size and strong resiliency of such rings is one aspect of the physical manipulations involved with vacuum enhancement therapy.
The actuation of manually operated vacuum pumps is another existing aspect of the technology. Battery operated vacuum pumps have in some instances been associated with vacuum chambers, such as in direct mount arrangements, as shown by example in further commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,808 (Osbon, et al.). There, an inline self-contained housing includes a battery operated vacuum motor apparatus using a reciprocating diaphragm pump arrangement driven by a small electric motor with an eccentric output shaft.
Other arrangements have involved the combination of a hand operated (i.e., manually driven) vacuum pump directly mounted or associated with the vacuum chamber. An example of one such system is the Response system by Smith-Collins Pharmaceutical, Inc., Westchester, Pa., which includes a cylinder which threads onto a vacuum pump, which pump has a long projecting lever pivotably mounted so as to be directed back from an inline pump housing towards the vacuum chamber. See Marmar, et al., "Penile Plethysmography on Impotent Men Using Vacuum Constrictor Devices,"; pp. 198-203; September 1988; Volume XXXII; No. 3; Urology Journal.
Because vacuum therapy impotence treatment requires some physical manipulations, the user's dexterity and strength are inherently involved in the process. With some patients, particularly if advanced age, disease, or other degenerative physical condition is involved, the physical aspects of the therapy may be more significant than with other more generally fit or capable patients. Because of the sensitive nature of the therapy involved, the reliability of any system or technology and its ease of use can be other significant factors in the overall success of the therapy for a given patient.
The disclosures of the above-referenced U.S. patents, and the subject matter of any patents incorporated by reference therein, are fully incorporated herein by reference.